Archive for: March 9th, 2018

‘The vigil is about honoring people who have died. Speakers will be reading the names of people who have died and I would hope they will be respectful of that,’ WC Indivisible VA organizer Heather Davis says of events planned for March 10 at the Front Royal Town Gazebo. Photo/Roger Bianchini

An organizer of Warren County Indivisible’s “Vigil and Protest for Victims of Gun Violence” scheduled for Saturday afternoon, March 10 in Front Royal say they will proceed despite the promise of an open-carry, pro gun-rights counter-demonstration. Multiple responses indicating a desire to participate in the suggested pro-gun counter-demonstration were posted online in recent days, some of a nature reported to raise safety concerns among some planned participants.

Heather Davis confirmed that some vigil against gun violence activities scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the Town Gazebo, including the bulk, if not all of the planned Selah Theater group presentations by local high school students have been cancelled out of fears of what might develop from the presence of armed, pro-gun rights advocates. However, as of Friday one student essay is still slated to be read as part of the program, Davis told Royal Examiner.

Davis said that she had spoken to Front Royal Police Chief Kahle Magalis about FRPD’s planned handling of what has developed into dueling demonstration agendas revolving around gun violence. Davis said Chief Magalis told her FRPD planned to cordon off the Gazebo area where the vigil will be held, while placing gun-rights activists in the vicinity of the nearby train caboose.

Royal Examiner contacted Chief Magalis, who confirmed the plan to separate demonstrators while not infringing on anyone’s right to express their opinion.

“We will have extra personnel, security and guidance so that both sides can have a platform to express their beliefs in a manner that everyone is safe, secure and that the businesses downtown are not disrupted,” Magalis said. He noted that social media posts had indicated a potentially sizable turnout for both demonstrations, and that FRPD would assign personnel accordingly.

Vigil against gun violence organizer Davis noted that the event’s major focus is the acknowledgement and honoring of victims of gun violence and a move toward more sensible gun laws, not a call to strip American citizens of their right to own guns.

“I hope they won’t be disruptive,” Davis said of pro-gun rights activists, “The vigil is about honoring people who have died. Speakers will be reading the names of people who have died and I would hope they will be respectful of that.”

The March 6 Warren County Indivisible press release announcing the event noted that the names of two of the most recent, and worst mass shootings in U.S. history, the Las Vegas concert shooting of October 1, 2017 (58 dead) and the 2018 Valentine’s Day massacre at a Parkland, Florida high school (17 Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS students and teachers dead) will be read aloud at the vigil.

Sixth District Congressional candidates Peter Volosin, Jennifer Lewis and Charlotte Moore are still slated to appear. Also invited but not indicating they will participate were Warren County’s three Republican state delegates, Michael J. Webert (18th), Chris Collins (29th) and Todd Gilbert (15th), as well as members of their staffs. Indivisible of Warren County, VA bills itself as “a non-partisan group of concerned citizen activists who put country before party, and stand against any erosion of our historic democratic principles of liberty, justice, and equality.”

On Thursday, this reporter spoke to one person expressing an interest in participating in the pro-gun rights demonstration. Told the other demonstration was “against gun violence” of the kind students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School experienced last month, rather than against the right of law-abiding citizens to own guns, he replied, “Well, I think everyone is against gun violence.”

I guess at least on the local front here in Front Royal and Warren County, Virginia, we will find out tomorrow afternoon if he is right.

It’s a what matters at the CORE–my group that sings the song that inspired it!

Today’s TOWN TIP THURSDAY … in concert LIVE AT THE BIRCHMERE…a reminder that WHAT MATTERS is your HEART! Enjoy this video of the band that inspired Beth Medved Waller’s WHAT MATTERS Initiatives– EDWIN MCCAIN PLAYING one of his 90’s hits, “I’ll Be,” at the Birchmere (recorded Thursday night 3/9/18–band manager and friend, Craig Shields kindly leaves her passes for their show every time they play in the area). Their song, “What Matters,” inspired the name of her philanthropic efforts. Beth shares the story behind the name….

Just over three years ago, I said a prayer asking for guidance. Seconds later a phone call came in. It was a call telling me that my tickets to see Edwin McCain were upgraded to front row center. At the concert, one of my best friends interrupted Edwin between songs with a note asking him to play “What Matters.” AND HE DID. I cried like I’ve never cried before because at that moment, something happened. I realized that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, and sometimes all you have to do is ask. I decided right then that I was going to start following my heart no matter where it leads me.

Yesterday, I received notification that my articles have been approved by Virginia, and I’m only one step away from making WHAT MATTERS an official 501c3 non-profit company. The successful $5k match campaign to Africa in December made me realize that I needed to find a way to be able to do more, and this is the next step. Thanks to everyone past and present who have made this dream possible and have made the path that has lead here so amazing, every step of the way (through both tears and laughter).

I have much more to share but will end with a THANK YOU to all who inspired this next step by your support, prayers, and donations during the Uganda trip. I’ve confirmed my trip to meet Herbie and team in Uganda on April 2nd. We’ll be working on finalizing the pen pal program (which got so large that we had to delay its launch to make sure it’s designed to sustain the growing interest). I’ll also be taking some supplies and helping Light up Life Foundations dig the first holes for the new school in the village that is being funded, in part, by the $10,000 raised during the WHAT MATTERS match campaign.

The lyrics of WHAT MATTERS say it best:

Have you given up on passion living day to day
You keep your dreams locked down inside
Choking on a lifetime of never take a chance
Don’t wake up one day wishing you tried

It ain’t about the money, it ain’t about the time
It ain’t about the love you lost or the things you think you left behind
It ain’t about the losing streak, makes you feel like you’re falling apart
What matters is your heart

Let’s forget about the notion that we’re not the same
My blood runs as red as yours
We all get angry, we’ve all been scared
We’ve all made big mistakes that can never be repaired

It ain’t about the money, it ain’t about the time
It ain’t about the love you lost or the things you think you left behind
It ain’t about the losing streak, makes you feel like you’re falling apart
What matters is your heart

Look me in the eye and take my hand
We can make a difference
We can make a difference I know we can

Have you given up on passion living day to day
You keep your dreams locked down inside
Choking on a lifetime of never take a chance
Don’t wake up one day wishing you tried

It ain’t about the money, it ain’t about the time
It ain’t about the love you lost or the things you think you left behind
It ain’t about the losing streak, makes you feel like you’re falling apart
What matters is your heart…

The Randolph-Macon Academy middle school Interact Club, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Warren County, has raised $570.01 (who donated the extra penny?) in its annual “Penny Wars” fundraiser, bringing to about $11,000 the total the club has raised for charity in the past eight years.

The middle school kids, now led by R-MA faculty member Danielle “Dani” Clingerman, voted to donate the funds this year toward helping the family of a local child who recently succumbed to cancer.

Trying to navigate through and view a website that doesn’t present well on a mobile device frustrates users and can create miss opportunities for your business.

If you’re unsure if your website is mobile friendly or not, you can run this quick test to determine that. If your website is not yet mobile friendly, you’re probably wondering about your options for making it so.

Here are three ways you can turn your website into one that will play well with mobile devices:

Develop a mobile version of your desktop website.

By using a conversion platform, your website developer can create a separate version of your website that will appear when someone views your site on a mobile device. This is a relatively quick way to make your website mobile friendly, but it has some drawbacks; you’ll need to maintain and update content on two separate websites and visitors on mobile devices may get frustrated because your website’s mobile version will likely not have the breadth of information that your desktop site has.

Use a mobile plugin for your site.

Popular website content management systems like WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla) have plugins you can install to make your website mobile friendly without creating a version separate from your desktop website. For more information about how you might make your existing site mobile friendly using plugins, visit Google’s Mobile Guide, which provides links to software available for various website platforms.

Recreate your website using a responsive web design.

Responsive design takes a mobile-first approach and provides a solution that gives you one website with design and features that adapt to screens of various sizes (smartphones, tablets, etc.). From the start, it takes into account how design, content, features, and functionality must be incorporated to ensure a positive user experience regardless of whether your website is accessed from a mobile device or desktop computer.

Typically, the separate mobile version of a desktop site and the plugin options are viewed as temporary fixes while responsive design is considered a more permanent solution. Each solution has some pros and cons, so consider talking with a website design professional to determine what makes sense for you in the short- and long-term. Not sure where to turn? Contact your local SCORE chapter for guidance and resources to help you with all aspects of starting and growing your small business.

Since 1964, SCORE “Mentors to America’s Small Business” has helped more than 10 million aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners through mentoring and business workshops. More than 11,000 volunteer business mentors in over 320 chapters serve their communities through entrepreneur education dedicated to the formation, growth and success of small businesses. For more information about starting or operating a small business, call 1-800-634-0245 for the SCORE chapter nearest you. Visit SCORE at www.score.org.